Monday, October 15, 2012
Societal Pressures
Our habits and beliefs are most definitely
shaped by our culture. When one looks at what we do openly, other cultures may
see it as offensive, and we may see what other cultures do disgusting. Because
of how our culture views different things, our habits are shaped by these
views. If there wasn’t a great pressure on an aesthetically pleasing
appearance, there wouldn’t be people who are in the habit of exercising for the
explicit purpose of “getting into shape” or alter their diet for the same
purpose. Additionally, if there was more of a pressure on appropriate
communication, there wouldn’t be as many “text shorts” or even “texting” in
general because of the need for face-to-face interaction. On the same note,
there isn’t as great of a pressure on spelling words appropriately, seeing as
Spelling as a subject that is stopped being taught in sixth grade, so people
don’t go into habits of ensuring the words they do use fully are spelled
correctly.
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Hi John,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything that you've written. The texting fad does not resonate with me personally, I am more of a story teller, and it is difficult to do that via a text. But it seems that most of the youth today, were born with a keypad in their hands and that texting, for better or worse, is here to stay until some new technology replaces it. I am all for technology as long as it helps people, I recall life before cell phones, and I am glad that we have them. But I bought the simplest phone I could find and only use it sparingly. My wife is the opposite, she wants the latest model with all of the requisite bells and buzzers, meanwhile I just want to be able to make a phone call.
And the being in “good shape” bit has been forced upon us by advertising. Most of us are not “camera-ready” and if one will just look at people in public they will see that maybe one percent actually looks like the models and actors on TV.
It is just not spelling that is missing from the curriculum these days. We used to have to do multiplication and division tables faithfully every morning. But my son has not done a single one through six years of grade school, plus kindergarten and preschool.
Thanks for reading,
Wes
Hello Chris,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post and liked how you brought the idea of working out into play. Because of cultural differences, working out and "getting in shape" is only valuable to certain cultures. When I started dieting and exercising, my in-laws of a different culture seemed to "worry" about my health and it was not in fact healthy to be so "skinny". Trust me, I am not a stick, I am strong and fit, but to them, it was gross and they wanted me to eat more and gain weight. I find it hard to believe sometimes how views can be so controversial and put into entirely different perspectives.